Activist
takes on county: Chuck Pillon believes logs,
debris in river can become death
traps

By Dean A. RadfordJournal
Reporter

For years, May Valley activist
Chuck Pillon has railed against the placing of big
logs and root wads in rivers to provide fish habitat and to secure banks because
they can become death traps.

Last week, he
did something about it.

He and a helper
removed big chunks of large woody debris from a bend in the Cedar River just
east of Renton — a popular swimming hole where, he said, swimmers have nearly
drowned.

He left the logs and root wads on
the side of the Cedar River Trail with a warning of the dangers he says remain
in the river.

He did the work illegally,
without benefit of permits required by all levels of government for work in
rivers. He violated the county's regulations regarding critical areas and
shorelines.

His work — which he says may
continue — could cost him thousands of dollars in civil fines and King County is
considering whether to file criminal charges against him.

It's what he expected and what he wants. He's trying to get the
county's attention.

"These are palpable
death traps," he said of such debris placed purposefully in rivers and those
that occur naturally as riverbanks give way.

Pillon
is no stranger to confrontations with the county. In 2001, he illegally dredged
part of May Creek east of Renton to ease flooding. As
a result, he has a $33,000 lien against his property. The county also cited him
for operating in essence an unpermitted recycling operation on his
property.

The logs he chose to remove last
week are part of a roughly $100,000 county project to deflect the force of the
Cedar River from the trail and State Route 169, easing the threat of
erosion.

Now the county is looking at how
it will repair the damage — at even more public cost. First, it will
have to get permits to do the work.

The
damage also could have implications for the county's efforts to help endangered
salmon recover under the federal Endangered Species Act.

The county's Department of Development and Environmental
Services, is investigating the illegal work and will discuss possible
enforcement with the county's Prosecuting Attorney's Office.

Pam Bissonnette, director of the
county's Department of Natural Resources and Parks, said the county is always
concerned about public safety on the rivers.

For years, a safety advisory committee has reviewed these
projects as part of the environmental review, with an eye toward how they might
threaten swimmers and boaters.

She said if
anyone had complained about the logs Pillon removed,
the county would have investigated to determine if the public's safety was at
risk.

That is what happened on the
Snoqualmie River near North Bend earlier this summer in an area of one drowning
— not caused by logs — and near drownings.

The county
removed a natural log jam near what's known as the Blue Hole, a popular swimming
area, after the urging of nearby residents. But there was plenty of debate
before the work was done, according to one resident.

"What needs to happen is that common sense needs to prevail,"
said Alexis Kaplan, who lives on the river.

If the danger is great and there's no way to remove a log jam,
then the county sheriff has the authority to close a stretch of river, as was
done this summer on the Snoqualmie.

What
swimmers and boaters need to remember is that rivers are "inherently dangerous,"
said Jon Fallstrom, deputy fire chief for Fire
District 10, whose service area includes parts of the Snoqualmie
River.

Log jams not only pose a threat to
those they ensnare but also to those sent to rescue them, according to Enumclaw
Fire Chief Joseph Kolisch, who also runs a swift-water
rescue team on the Green and White rivers.

"When they started putting the debris in the river, my people
just about had heart attacks," he said. "Mother Nature gives us enough problems
with our rivers without adding to it."